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John Mackey, the co-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Markets, says he doesn’t court controversy. But he also believes in speaking his mind. Last month he angered liberals by telling an NPR interviewer that Obamacare was “technically speaking” a form of fascism. “Socialism is where the government owns the means of production,” he explained. “In fascism, the government doesn’t own the means of production, but they do control it — and that’s what’s happening with our health-care programs and these reforms.”

Mackey backed off his comments later in a blog post. The F-word “stirs up too much negative emotion with its horrific associations in the 20th century,” he said. “I think for now I will simply call [the Obama law] government-controlled health care.”